The Rainy Days of Juvia Loxer
by Mysty Midnight
Summary: All she had wanted was for the rain to bless her parents' crops. Now, all she wants is for it to go away. Oneshot


The Rainy Days of Juvia Loxer

**Diclaimer: **Obvs I don't own Fairy Tail.

* * *

><p>In the year of X767, on a summer day where the grass is dry from the scorching heat and the flowers were wilting from thirst, a baby girl with tuffs of curly blue hair and matching crystal blue eyes is born to parents Katsuro and Rika Loxer.<p>

"Hey, there," Rika whispers to her baby, whom is still unnamed. "I'm your mommy." And then Juvia giggles, a soft tinkling sound like water running through a small stream. Finally, for the first time in months, drips of rain fell from the clear blue sky. It is almost like a miracle, the first rain in months, so baby Loxer is named Juvia of the rain.

…

Her parents are farmers, and grow their own wonderful crops in their huge garden where Juvia happily plays in as she grows up. Near the strawberry patch, she takes her first steps. Eager to hop into the arms of her father, she rushes towards him. She stumbles after two steps, but it is still an achievement.

She is happy as a child, always smiling and laughing with her parents. Her parents are not Mages, so they relay on their crops to bring them good food to eat and sell. Of course, it's horrible in the summer when the heat is scorching and the plants are begging for water. Each night in the summer, Juvia wishes for the rain. The sky stays silent. She tries again. The clouds are still hiding.

It was then that she decides that she has to take matters into her own hands, and spends the whole day outside as if on strike. "Juvia is not coming inside until the sky brings rain!" she declares to her parents, like there is a chance that because of her strike, rain will fall. They cannot dissuade her but she's too stubborn, so they try to stay out with her but she wants to do this alone.

All they can do is give her a sleeping bag, tent, a lamp and some snacks, and hope that their beloved daughter gives up and comes back inside into the house.

They don't hope for rain because, at this time of year, it would be impossible for the droplets to fall.

The sky is dark and gloomy, and the weather is warm, but Juvia cannot sleep. She is outside the tent, sitting on the ticklish grass and using her torch to watch the ants and other creepy-crawlies scatter pass. She isn't afraid of them, or afraid of things that go bump in the night.

But she is afraid of losing her parents.

She just wants to make them happy, and with rain for their plants, they will be. She glares fiercely at the sky, blaming it for not bringing the rain. Her legs find the confidence to stand and she stomps her feet on the grass. Her skin is boiling, much more than the usual, and she feels like she could burst. "Juvia will bring the rain!" she screams with force. She feels her body turn to liquid, and can see the steam forming around her water body. The image of her as nothing more than water is shocking and, for a moment, Juvia thinks she is dreaming.

_No, this is not a dream_, Juvia realizes as she descends higher and higher up into the sky._This is destiny._ She can still feel the dry grass at her feet, yet her head is up where the birds are. She is flowing up higher and higher…

She wakes up when the sun is peaking out and the sky is not the usual baby-pink it is during sun-rises. Dim grey clouds have appeared in the sky, and drops of water are sinking down and down. Joy runs through her veins and she jumps up, grinning madly. She glances back up at the clouds, wondering if she is dreaming. For a moment, her world comes crashing down. But, then, the water droplets fall onto her face and she feels their coldness. They trickle down her face like tears, but Juvia is everything but sad. The dull clouds, which may as well be the colors of the rainbow in Juvia's mind, are still there and showering down happiness.

_Juvia is the bringer of rain_.

…

After some practice, she is able to bring and takes away the rain when it pleases her, and whenever it is appropriate. Her parents think of her as the prodigy of the family, but Juvia is just glad that they're happy. She cares more about their happiness rather than about her newfound Mage powers.

Their crops bring fresh fruit and vegetables, and they earn a lot of money. The work piles up as their business grows, and soon her parents don't have enough time to spend home-schooling Juvia. There is a school over the hill, and Juvia would watch from her bedroom window as the children ran to school, late, and then would leave several hours' later, happy and holding papers they drew, painted and colored on.

Juvia has never thought of leaving her parents, but the idea of meeting new people and making friends is enticing and she quickly agrees when her parents suggest going to public school.

Nerves run through her on her first day of school, but she inhales a deep breathe and goes inside the colorful building. "Everyone, this is Juvia," the teacher kindly introduces her to her classmates. The hardly take any heed, too busy with their coloring and painting. But, one of the girls allows her to sit with them. It's nice, and they quickly become friends.

It falls apart in the matter of weeks.

She gets the occasional teasing from classmates, as does everyone. Her friend Sophia-chan is teased about her flame red hair; Bridget-chan about her dimness; Teru-chan about her sloppy eating. Juvia is teased about her speech – how she refers to herself in third person. Her parents hope that she will grow out of it, but she doubts it. It's part of who she is.

But don't ever, _ever_, tease her about her parents.

"Your _Mom _is a farmer?" Aito Kurosaki snorts into his lunch. His posse does the same, like what he said was remotely funny. "Is that why you wear those clothes? Because you can't afford anything else?"

The anger boils inside her like it had that night. However, it is worse now. It rages inside her like a fire wishing to light everything, namely Aito, on fire. She clenches her fists and gives him a good glare, hoping that he would shut up and stop laughing before she does something she regrets. Since she developed her Mage powers at an early age, she knows what they could do, how much they can harm others, but she hasn't had the training to control her magic yet.

He keeps on laughing, and that's when she loses it.

Her body is in its water form again and, before she can stop herself, she rushes to Aito. The boiling water slashes him and he falls to the floor, crying about burns. Juvia is on the floor, back in her real form and crying her eyes out too, like she and Aito are in a competition of who could cry the most.

Aito suffers from third-degree burns. Juvia suffers from rejection because all her friends and classmates shun her and do their best to stay away from her, fearing that they will suffer the same fate as 'poor Aito'.

That's when the rain continues to fall, like a video tape with no pause button.

All students must wear raincoats and bundle up, even in the summer, because of the cold droplets that cause flues and fevers. Juvia is told to, too, although there is no need for her to wear such heavy coats and scarves when she is the rain itself. So, instead, her parents buy her a Russian Cossack hat, something adorable and unique which she loves very much. She hopes that it will arouse some questions and curiosity in class and maybe someone will finally talk to her again.

No one does.

Everyone whispers about her, and edge away from her seat.

"_I heard that she burnt Aito into a crisp_."_"She attacked him for no reason_!" "_Stay away or she'll burn us too_!"

She is isolated in the classroom, like a predatory shark in a sea full of scared fish. The rain falls and falls. _Pitter patter. Pitter patter_. The kids no longer whisper about the incident with Aito, because that has been forgotten and lost in their not-yet matured brains. The malicious whispers are about the rain that always follows her, the storm cloud literally above her head. _Pitter patter. Pitter patter._ The drops of sadness crash onto roofs that begin to leak, the ground that starts to become muddy, and the crops that gets bloated and dies.

The Loxer business drowns in the heavy rainfall, driving Rika and Katsuro into selling their land for morsels of money and moving into a tiny house which is all they can afford.

All she had wanted was for the rain to bless her parents' crops. Now, all she wants is for it to go away.

Juvia cries and cries out of guilt, like her own eyes are raining too. Her parents don't blame Juvia, but she thinks they should. It is her own fault, her own sadness that caused their bankruptcy. She tries to be happy; she tries to make the rain go away. But, of course, it doesn't work.

_Pitter patter. Pitter patter._

And then, because the clouds are laughing at her like the thunder that rumbles within them, her mother gets fatally ill. The treatment is expensive, and they cannot afford it at all.

The day that Rika Loxer dies is the day the rain drenches all unlucky enough to be under the murderous clouds. It stretches on for miles, causing unhappiness to others. Juvia does not think they deserve to be happy on the day of her beloved mother's death.

Her father works many hours a day to earn money for the two of them, and Juvia hardly sees him. She spends the first half of her day at school, where the kids gossip about her and wish that she would just go to another school because they want to play in the playground without getting pneumonia. She spends the next half of her day at home, all alone, with only the sound of the pitter patter of the raindrops to keep her company.

She makes a new friend, her lovely Teru teru bōzu doll, but he doesn't take the rain away either. He isn't enough for her.

…

"Daddy? Can Juvia go to work with Daddy?" she politely asks her father one day.

He shoots her a glare. "No, you can't! It rains wherever you go!" he shouts at her with anger. "Go to your room!"

That night, the clouds stretch over the whole of Fiore.

…

Her father dies in a fire, and the irony isn't lost on her. He had been so determined to keep her away, to stop her rain, but it was the rain which he had really needed when the bright red flames had been surrounding him as he slowly burned away in an agonizing death.

Tears escape her eyes as she stands in front of the two graves of the only two people who love her in the world. _Loved_. Past tense because now they are no longer in the world – they are above the clouds, in a better place.

She is an orphan in the world, but doesn't find it difficult to earn jewels to live. She stays in the areas that suffer from drought – where her water magic would be appreciated. The locals would beg her to stay with them for a night or more, so the rain she brings with her would bless their crops. They would give her jewels, feed her, and give her a place to sleep. But it doesn't last more than a week before they decide that their crops have had enough rain and more water would be murder.

The journey she goes on is a lonely one, without company or even a goal. The droplets of water dribble down her pink umbrella as she walks on the dull grey pavement. Although she doesn't need an umbrella, she uses it in order to not look so odd among these strangers who do not know of her melancholic magic. With the pink umbrella in her hand and her only friend, Teru teru bōzu, at her neck, she walks through the town. As always, she brings the rain with her.

Juvia decides to cut her journey in half by taking a short cut through the gloomy forest. The trees are tall and tower over her and their thick branches and emerald green leaves act as a shield. However, her rain still penetrates their shield and it pours down into their precious forest.

She's no more than halfway in when she becomes aware of the fact that she is not alone in the forest. It's not like in _Little Red Riding Hood_, where she is Little Red on her way to Grandma's house and the thing lurking in the woods is the Big Bag Wolf. Juvia is not weak, and she can fight.

"Water Slicer!" she shouts, twirling round to attack the enemy. Blades of water splashed out of her to slice the enemy. But the enemy is strong and doesn't get harmed at all.

She can't even get a second to take in her enemy's odd appearance because he shouts, "Iron Dragon Club!" A punch comes her way but doesn't harm her, either. Where he tried to punch her, there is a hole in her body. He stares at her, bewildered. "What the-"

"Juvia's body is formed of the rain itself," she tells him. The teenage boy – at least, she assumes, because he is very muscular for his age – is much taller than her, with muscles and piercings and blood red eyes – all together making him look fierce and terrifying.

He is giving her a look over too. What he thinks about her is difficult to tell because his dark slitted eyes give nothing away. "Juvia, huh? Any reason why you're in _my_ neck of the woods?"

"Juvia did not know that Juvia was in stranger-san's neck," she tells him and he barks out a laugh. It warms her heart a little and she nearly smiles. It has been a while since she has made someone laugh. "Juvia will leave stranger-san now." She bows her head and turns on her heel to leave.

"See ya, rain girl," he shouts after her. "Don't come in here again or you'll feel the wrath of an iron dragon-slayer."

She almost trips over. _Dragon-slayer?_ She has heard of that rare type of magic, but has never ever thought that she would meet a dragon-slayer herself. She wishes she can go back and find out stranger-san's name, but decides against it because dragon-slayers are strong and the stranger can probably kill her if he wishes.

(It's in a few years when she meets him again. This time, she calls him Gajeel-kun instead of stranger-san.)

…

Bora is her first boyfriend.

She meets him in the park, where couples are having picnics in the rain like it was oh-so romantic and she was stuck by herself under her pitiful umbrella. No one knows that the rain is falling because of her, so she isn't getting any dirty looks or glares.

"You look lonely," a guy tells her as he approaches her. He is handsome, with blue-black hair and a charming smile. Juvia feels her cheeks heat up. Normally, no one willingly talks to her.

"Yes, Juvia is lonely," she mumbles, more to herself than to him, but he hears her and flashes a smile.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one here who's lonely," he tells her, right before plopping onto the seat next to her.

When he's around, her heart does little back flips and her cheeks redden and she turns to jelly. She thinks its love. He's a fire Mage, she's a water Mage, yet they somehow mix together into something wonderful. All her troubles about her long-gone parents and the harsh looks she always got in school disappear when she is with him.

But, she is just viewing him through rose-tinted glasses. She had forgotten about the rain that always follows her. It doesn't take long for him to realize that she's the reason the rain is always falling when they're together. He complains and complains until one day, he decides to give up and ends it.

"Why is it always raining? I can't go fishing or camping with you. Please break up with me."

_Pitter patter. Pitter patter._ Her heart breaks some more and she drowns in her tears. No one will love her. She is cursed with this consistent rain that will follow her until the day she dies.

…

Loneliness only causes the rain to fall harder, so, after a lot of contemplating, she makes it her mission to join a Guild. She is a powerful Mage, so will be accepted easily into a Guild. From there, she will try to make friends. Yes, she will try. She will not fear the possibility of rejection.

_Which Guild shall Juvia join?_ She wonders. The newspaper in her hand tells her about the Fairy Tail Guild. They're destructive, devious, dangerous, but the members are the best of friends. They consider one another as nakama and stick by them. Is there a chance that they will think the same about her?

"Don't tell me you're thinking of joining _that_disgusting Guild?" Juvia jolts up, alarmed. The man that stands before her is tall and lean. The witch hat atop his red hair causes him look comical but his fierce eyes are intimidating. Juvia quivers. His voice was calm, but reminder her of how calm the sea is before a tempest.

"Y-yes," she truthfully tells him. He quirks an eyebrow at her. "Juvia w- wants to join Fa-"

"If you want to join a Guild," he interrupts her, "join the Phantom Lord Guild. We're much stronger than _them_."

Jose Porla takes her hand and tenderly kisses it with his leechy lips that make Juvia shudder. He invites her into his twisted Guild and she accepts. It would be rude to decline, and he had been so polite about it. She would rather join his Guild than face rejection if isn't accepted into the Fairy Tail Guild. But her skin crawls whenever she looks at him – something she knows she should not feel about her savior. He had saved her from rejection so she gives him a small smile and fights the urge within her that is insisting that she should flee.

The Mages of Phantom Lord Guild give her odd looks, varying from skeptical double-takes to skin-crawling leers. Juvia has always wanted to be noticed by boys, but this is far too much. It doesn't help that there are only three other girls in the Guild.

The boys are rude, boisterous and veering on the edge of being creeps. Actually, they _are_creeps. The winks, the smirks, the scars, the horrible _breathe_; Juvia shivers.

As she stands in front of the vast request board, trying to choose between finding thieves or becoming a thief and stealing a precious jewel, she tries not to think about boys who are staring into her skull.

"Check out the newbie!" someone shouts to their friend across the Guild Hall. "Hot stuff!"

"Yeah, but check out the fucking weather!" someone else complains. "It's 'cause of her."

That phrase, "_are my ears burning?_" that is said whenever a person thinks people are gossiping about them is not just figurative for Juvia. Her ears are literally _burning_ with rage, as is the rest of her body. She is between using _sierra_ and taking out the whole Guild, or bursting into tears and causing a flood in the building.

"Hey, Gajeel! Check out the -"

The voice is cut off with a loud _thump_ and Juvia hears him gasp and squeak for breathes of oxygen. Curiously, she turns around to see the peculiar scene, and then narrowly dodges a body that is hurled at the request board.

"What did I say!" an angry voice grumbles. "Don't disturb me when I'm eating!" In the midst of horrible anger, another five are thrown too. Luckily, this time Juvia is far away from the request board because she had sensed trouble in the air.

The boys quickly stand, seemingly unharmed, apologies to whoever it is that the nails on velvet voice belongs to and hastily walk away.

It's then that she looks closely to the easily angered man and her eyes widen with surprise. "Stranger-san?" Juvia says in awe. The teenage boy is more of a man now. His hair is longer, jet black and spiky, his eyes are redder with anger and he is wearing much more devilish and terrifying clothing.

From behind her, she hears someone joyfully say, "Ooh! Newbie's gonna get it from Gajeel!"

The Guild is quickly hushed and everyone waits in baited breathe, eager to watch the scene befall. All Juvia hears is the _pitter patter_ of the on the Guild roof and the impatient whispers of the Mages who are keen to watch a girl get beaten to a pulp.

No fist is raised. No leg is lifted. No glare is given. All 'Gajeel' does is turn to her, swallow his strange meal of metal, and grunt, "It's Gajeel."

The disorderly and rowdy boys are sat silent and frozen, bewildered.

"D- does strang- does Gajeel-san not remember Juvia?" she hesitantly asks him.

"You stormed into my forest – why shouldn't I remember you?" he rolls his eyes. "Does it always rain where you go?"

She had been expecting anger, not curiosity. She is used to people being furious with her and the storm that has set up camp over her head, yet Gajeel's voice is not harsh or full with venom. But, of course, she doesn't realize all of that at first and just feels a burst of anger. "Juvia brings the rain," she tells him with a glare. "What does Gajeel-san bring?"

He chuckles a little, and the Mages stare at him in shock. Gajeel must not laugh often – at least, not a laugh that is not dark and treacherous – and this is something new and almost horrifying for them. They're staring at her more too, wondering how a stranger to the Guild has the power to make Gajeel laugh.

"Juvia brings the rain," he repeats. "I'll bring the iron. We'll see who wins, 'kay?"

"Juvia does not want to fight Gajeel-san."

He rolls his eyes and takes in another mouthful of what he considers to be food. "It's not fighting. It's training." He glowers at the watching Mages, who quickly look away out of fright. "These losers can't handle a punch from me like you can. I need someone new to train with – someone who won't go down in seconds."

Her blue eyes widen with surprise. This is an olive branch. Gajeel isn't someone she expects to make friends with, if you can even call it that, but he isn't like all the other boys. He isn't necessarily nice, but he doesn't insult her about the storm cloud that camps atop her head or the clothes she wears. She isn't at all frightened of him, like the others are, and he seems to like it as it means she will train with him without fearing bruises or cuts.

He accompanies her on her first mission, and she's grateful for that. He had chosen the request requiring them to capture thieves because he enjoys a good fight and adventure. She takes out a thief with her _Water Lock_ within seconds, another 10 with her _Water Nebula_ and 5 with her _Water Slicer_.

After the successful and extremely easy mission, she and Gajeel walk back to the Guild in silence. Gajeel isn't fond of talking. He likes actions rather than words. In their so-called friendship, they do not speak of families or pasts, because they have silent understanding that these things are too private, too personal, to be talked about. He never asks why she was alone in the forest that day, years ago, and she doesn't ask why he was alone in the forest either.

The rain is lighter than usual, and she takes that to be a good sign. But she is still holding her umbrella, yet Gajeel is not. His eyes give nothing away and his expression is unreadable but, as far as Juvia can tell, he is not at all bothered by the wetness.

"Quit staring, rain woman," he says without glancing her way.

"Sorry, Gajeel-san." She frowns. "Gajeel-san just called Juvia rain _woman_, not rain girl."

"Girl?" he laughed. "Did you see yourself out there? You weren't a girl – you were ruthless."

From Gajeel, that is a compliment, and she finds herself smiling.

When someone in the Guild groans about the rain, Gajeel is quick in giving that Mage a swift punch in the face that must have shattered the bone. "Only pussies can't handle a little rain. You don't deserve to be in this Guild," he growls at the Mage, but Juvia knows that he was defending her.

Gajeel-san quickly turns into Gajeel-kun after that.

…

Since she is 'friends' with Gajeel, many others stay away from her in terror as they think that, with one false move, she will sic Gajeel on them. Therefore, she does not have a strong bond, or any bond, with the other Mages.

So, of course, it shocks her when she is approached by three Phantom Lord Mages whom she has hardly even spoken with – and then asked to join their team.

It is unexpected, and takes place on a simple day when she is walking to the Guild in the early morning. As she scrapes across the ground, she hears an odd voice.

"_Non non non."_ She dismisses it.

"_Non non non."_ She stops and her head turns as she tries to find the source of the voice. Her eyes land on the floor, where the ground is beginning to crack into pieces like her heart had cracked because of Bora.

"_Non non non non non non non."_ The ground bursts open and Sol, a member of her Guild, pops out, wearing his usual mischievous smile and monocle and spiky green hair. "Bonjour, Juvia-sama, with non in 3-3-7 rhythm."

"Hello, Monsieur Sol," she cautiously says, eyes narrowed. She hasn't known Sol for long, and certainly doesn't know him well, but he is fairly innocent and playful with other; not to mention, he is very odd, what with his bizarre stance and tilted head.

"Hello, Juvia," a taunting voice says. Juvia's eyes flash to the right where she sees Totomaru and his 'skunk hair' as Gajeel had crudely called it. He is extremely annoying, always joking around and teasing others, and he reminds her of the bullies who picked on her as a child. Not to mention, he is a fire Mage, which only reminds her of Bora also. She often finds herself clenching her fists whenever he is near, trying to keep herself from using _sierra _on him.

(_"You got beef with Tutu?" Gajeel had asked her, using his nickname for Totomaru. He had noticed her struggling to keep hold of her anger around him. "You should go ahead and fight him. He's an arrogant weakling who needs his ass to be kicked. Unless you want me to do it for you?" He had looked hopeful, but Juvia had just shaken her head at him.)_

"Juvia-sama," a smooth and soft voice says. Aria appears out of thin air, which is fitting since he is an Air Mage. Unlike Gajeel, Juvia does not find him 'creepy'. In fact, she can relate to him, because of his despair and sorrow. His misery is expressed through his Void magic, as is hers with her Water magic.

_What would Gajeel-kun say if he knew that Juvia's rain is caused because of her despair?_She often wonders, but now she is not thinking about that. All she is thinking of is that she is practically surrounded by three strong Mages. They may be in the same Guild as her, but that does not necessarily mean that they are her allies.

(_"Don't trust anyone," Gajeel sharply told her after she had allowed a Phantom Lord Mage to accompany her on a mission, but it only ended with her doing all the fighting and him taking the whole reward for himself. "You got that? No one. Not even Master."_

"_Can Juvia trust Gajeel-kun?" she had curiously asked._

_He stopped in thought. "No," he finally said. "Don't trust me either.")_

Her defenses are up, and she is alert and ready for any type of attack. However, none of the three are in fighting stances, nor do they seem angry with her. That doesn't mean she's taking chances and letting her guard down. "What do you want with Juvia?" she sharply asks them. "Tell Juvia!"

"Juvia-sama, do not fear us, we do not want to hurt you," Aria reassures her in his calm voice.

"My monocle tells me you are the one we have been searching for, Juvia-sama," Sol haughtily informs her.

"Searching for Juvia?"

Aria nods. "I am Aria of the Great Heavens."

"Sol of the Land."

"Totomaru of the Conflagration."

"We wish for you to join our team, Juvia of the Great Sea," Aria informs her. Her eyes widen._They want Juvia to…_ She had not expected for them to ask her this. She hardly knew them.

_Juvia of the Great Sea? _She brought the rain, which added to the sea and made it grow, greater and great. It fit. They were Air, Earth and Fire. They were in need of a Water Mage – her. This may be the only possible way to fit in, so she must accept.

This is how Element 4, the strongest team in Phantom Lord, is formed.

…

Gajeel's reaction is not what she expected it to be when she tells him the news. Although, Juvia is not certain what she had thought Gajeel would say. He is still mysterious to her, and she can never tell what he is thinking or feeling – or if he is as emotionless as an iron robot.

He just grunts and says, "Cool. I can't wait until I can go on a mission without having your rain pouring down on me." And then he blatantly ignores her for the rest of the day.

Juvia tries not to think that, even though this is the beginning of a team, it is the end of a friendship.

…

The one thing that she has in common with Gajeel – other than being orphans/parentless – is that they both do not threaten their clients for bigger rewards. She often hears Mages in the Guild laugh about how much they had gotten their client to reward them with, but Gajeel is more interested in the fight than the money.

(All she is interested in is just earning enough money to get by in this sad and cruel world.)

Yet, somehow, he is excited when Master Jose tells them that he must attack the Fairy Tail Guild. Then she is told that she and Sol must retrieve a Mage from the Guild, a blonde heir named Lucy Heartphilia, and she knows she must follow through with the plan to be considered their nakama.

Her teammates are honest and fair too, never threatening their clients, yet they do not think twice about their mission to attack the Fairy Tail Guild, whereas she hesitates. The Mages of Fairy Tail have done nothing to harm them – nothing wrong at all – yet her teammates are willing to hurt them when Master Jose clicks his fingers?

However, when Sol points out who their target is, she loses all hesitation. This blonde is absolutely beautiful, obviously not cursed with the constant rain to fall on her head. The jealousy is thick in Juvia's veins and she is sure she is as green as Sol's hair.

"Capture complete," she says in her voice that is so bland it is unfamiliar. It has been several years since she had been a bubbly and joyful little girl.

…

Her stomach stirs when she first sees the handsome Gray, and her heart begins to beat quickly, trying to beat its way out of her chest.

Her heart almost breaks when he tells her, "I won't go easy on anyone who hurts my nakama." She wishes she could have someone like him, someone who would do anything to protect her. Her cheeks heat up but her face remains lifeless. The words of surrender burst out of her before she can stop them, and she finds herself walking in the other direction with Gray gawking at her.

_Pitter patter. Pitter patter._

This time, it is not the rain but the sound of her beating heart. She knows what she has to do. She has to make him hers, so he can't leave her like her parents, Bora, and even Gajeel, did.

"_Water Rock_!" she shouts with full force, enveloping her handsome prince. Her heart shatters when she sees a previous wound begin to divulge _because of her_. She struggles to find her senses and release him, but Gray has already frozen her unbreakable _Water Rock_ and broke free.

She remembers that night, years ago, when she had been flowing into the air and had discovered her water magic. It had been fate then. _Is this fate now?_ She questions.

Her heart is not prepared to see him half-naked, and she nearly melts. He attacks her then, proving that he is an enemy and even if his attack doesn't pain her, his betrayal does. She attacks him again but it is not at full force because she does not wish to harm him.

Although she should not, she offers him an ultimatum, which he point blank refuses. "Lucy's our nakama," he bluntly tells her.

_Pitter patter._

Her umbrella drops out of her hands and she is stood frozen with shock. The, the tears burn her eyes and quickly fall. She tries to wipe them away, reminding herself that she is better than this. Anger then emerges, suffocating the sadness and breaking through her skin before she can stop it.

"I won't forgive Lucy!" she screams. That girl has everything – looks, intelligence, nakama willing to risk their lives for her, and her prince charming too.

Her vision blurs and she sees Lucy in the place of Gray, and hastily attacks him with her _sierra_. Her jealousy is the gasoline to her fire, making the fire burn more hazardous and bright. Her sight is disoriented and all she sees are blurred images of Gray and then, next thing she knows, he has frozen her…

… And also touched her in ways that should be viewed as inappropriate, but just arouses a blush within her.

Tears trickle down her face as she thinks of how kind Gray is. The rain falls harder as she tries to get her bearings. A lump is stuck in her throat as she tries to speak the words on the tip of her tongue, but then the rain, her worst enemy, ruins it for her again.

"This rain is so depressing," Gray says, scowling up at the misty clouds that are pouring down rain.

She remembers her father, Bora, and Gajeel saying nearly the same thing to her, and her fury bubbles. _He's just like them!_ Her Sierra is hotter than before, branching on the level of being actually fire, and she scorches Gray. _I don't need him!_ She fights with her heart. _I don't need love!_

She remembers all the insults, mockery, harsh comments, teasing, whispers and everything that made her want to burst into tears. Gajeel is right – she should not trust anyone. She does not need love to survive.

Yet, once again, Gray defies her wishes and freezes everything – even her rain. As she wonders about his wonderful, he attacks again.

Pain rushes through her body and tears flow out. She has lost. Not once has she lost to another Mage other than Gajeel.

But she is much more shocked about the clear blue sky that she is staring up at. _Have I died?_She thinks, dizzy and perplexed. _Mom? Dad?_

The pain in her head and her aching body jolts her back to reality. She has not died, but the sky is still clear and the rain is no more.

Gray has gotten rid of all the sadness – all the clouds – and tears dribble down her flushed cheeks as she stares up at the baby-blue and cloudless sky. _This is fate._

_This is the end of the sad rainy days for Juvia._


End file.
